
By Latrishka Thomas
The court case involving former Member of Parliament (MP) Dean Jonas did not get underway in the St John’s Magistrates’ Court yesterday as expected.
Instead, it was adjourned until Friday 3 March to allow for the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to take the conduct of the matter.
Jonas — the former minister of Social Transformation and Gender Affairs — was charged last week with resisting arrest, making use of threatening language, disorderly conduct, and battery after an incident that occurred at his Scott’s Hill home on February 23.
He appeared before Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh yesterday and was represented by attorneys Wendel Robinson and George Lake.
The prosecution told the court that they do not wish to have the charges put to the defendant and instead requested a later date based on instructions that someone from the DPP’s office will be taking conduct of the matter.
But the DPP’s office told Observer that it had never been approached and had had no discussion with the police with regard to taking over the matter.
The police prosecutor had however indicated in court that this decision was due to the fact that the incident involved the police.
The defense had vehemently objected to the adjournment, stating that minor offenses such as what Jonas is accused of, are usually dealt with by the police prosecution.
The attorney and the magistrate also questioned why no one from the Office of the DPP was present at the hearing, or why no correspondence had been sent to relay their inability to attend the hearing.
The defense attorney also argued that Jonas, despite being a former minister of government was “an ordinary citizen just like anybody else in Antigua and Barbuda”.
He also stated that the police should be ready to proceed given that the entire incident was recorded.
The prosecution was ordered to get their ducks in a row and to return on 3 March ready to proceed.
Events leading up to the arrest and charging of the former St George MP have made the rounds on social media in the form of a bodycam video.
It appears that the incident began as a result of a dispute between Jonas and the mother of one of his children over custody of that child.
Jonas was granted station bail upon being slapped with the aforementioned four charges.